Matt Nagy explains why the Chiefs’ offense is still ‘fixable’

During last Sunday’s 24-9 loss, the Kansas City Chiefs played their worst game of the season against the Denver Broncos. The offense couldn’t seem to get going — and multiple turnovers also contributed to the team scoring just nine points.

But Kansas City offensive coordinator Matt Nagy still believes that his unit can get back on track.

“It’s very fixable,” Nagy told reporters on Thursday. “There’s not panic. It’s there for us to understand.

“When you look back a few weeks ago, we put a pretty good game together. The players played well; they executed [and] we played complementary football with the defense [and] the special teams. [But] this past weekend against Denver? In any football game, you can’t turn the football over — and we did that. We did it three times in the first half.”

Turnovers have, in fact, been the source of many of Kansas City’s offensive problems. Against the Broncos, the offense lost two fumbles and two interceptions — while the special teams unit added another lost fumble — for a total of five turnovers. The team now how 16 giveaways for the season, which is tied with the Las Vegas Raiders as the league’s second-worst mark.

“We felt like we were, at times, moving the ball,” explained Nagy, “and then all of a sudden — boom! A four-play drive and a turnover.

“You can’t get into a rhythm. Even when you get into the question with running the football, drives are about getting into rhythms. Whether you do repeated runs — or whatever it is — you have some lengthy drives. We really didn’t have many of [those].

“I think we only had three possessions — true possessions — in the second half. Then you combine that with the first half having three turnovers?

“When you look at it, [you] say, ‘Let’s eliminate turnovers. Let’s start there. Then let’s get into the red zone and score touchdowns.’

“If we do that, [on] the other stuff, the guys are doing a great job with [it]; they’re executing. I guess what I’m saying is [that] we didn’t necessarily feel like that these plays [weren’t] working. It’s just a matter of locking some things in a little bit tighter for coaches and players.”

Aside from the turnovers, the Chiefs have to address their red zone offense. They settled for three field goals in Week 8, failing to score a touchdown for the first time since 2021’s 27-3 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

“We were not very good in the red zone when we got down there and didn’t turn the ball over,” acknowledged Nagy. “We didn’t score — whether it was a turnover or a field goal or just not getting a touchdown. We were, I think, one-for-eight in two games against that defense, so you’ve got to give [the Broncos] credit. But at the same point in time, we know we can be better.”

With this Sunday’s matchup against the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City cannot afford to waste touchdown opportunities; they’re likely to need every one of them to keep up with one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses.

“[We’re] going back to the drawing board,” said Nagy, “seeing where we went wrong. [We’re] not placing blame, but [we’re] also accepting that we have to be better. We know we can.

“[We] get a great opportunity here: for us to show what we can do in all three phases this weekend.”